The Vampire Lover


The POSTER IS A LIE! No one ends up chained up in a dungeon, so nobody get too excited. There’s also only ONE blood nymph, not an army of them. And I don’t remember a mace either…. It’s just a bad poster all-around, really….

In Austria, a beautiful, foreign noblewoman keeps finding convenient excuses to leave her equally beautiful daughter at the estates of local noblemen with attractive daughters. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, as her daughter is a quiet, intelligent and charming young woman, who seems to easily get along with everyone. But as the young woman’s stay becomes longer and longer at each estate, a pattern begins to emerge. It starts with the daughters of the various noblemen having nightmares involving being attacked by a large cat, and is quickly followed by listlessness, fatigue and – eventually – death. But it isn’t a strange illness that’s causing these sudden fatalities. Because when the doctor inspected the last young woman who died, she was also found with two mysterious puncture wounds on her breasts… and as soon as that happened suddenly the young noblewoman’s daughter was nowhere to be found.


Probably because she keeps wandering off in her skivvies the middle of the damn night.

What better way to follow up a movie that was poking fun at Hammer horror pictures then by watching… an actual Hammer horror picture! Ha ha! Bet you didn’t see that coming! Honestly though, I picked The Vampire Lovers for a couple of reasons: 1) it has Peter Cushing in it, so I was reasonably sure it couldn’t suck too much, 2) it also stars Ferdy Mayne, who played Dracula in Vampire Happening, so there was a nice little bonus segue there, and 3) this was one of Hammer’s later productions, back when their “gothic” aesthetic was going out of style, so the company drastically attempted to overcompensate by trying to draw in new crowds in with nudity, so I knew the film would easily fit in with my Sexy Vampires theme for the month. Although….all the boobies in the world won’t hide the fact that the film is still a gothic period horror piece. But like all the good Hammer films they have a good excuse: it’s based on something else.



If you’re a fan of vampire literature and you think the plot sounds vaguely familiar, then you’re probably right on the money. Ever heard of Carmilla? One of the earliest vampire stories ever written? Has lesbian vampires and predates Bram Stoker’s Dracula by 25 years? Yes? No?… Maybe?…… MAYBE?!?…….. *coughs* Well, hell. I remember reading it. But then I was a weird kid who also voluntarily read Frankenstein in high school without being prompted (note: as with most literature reading it without having to “learn” it is totally the way to go), so maybe I shouldn’t be so judgy. Anyway, Vampire Lovers is basically the story of Carmilla. And it’s actually a surprisingly faithful adaptation to boot, all things considered. They changed things of course (like the point of view), because that always happens with these kinds of things. But they also kept the names, hit most of the main plot points and kept all the sexually suggestive lady lovin’ in there too (actually, there might be even more of that…). Meaning much of the original story is still intact. So whether you know the original story and would like a quick refresher, or you don’t know the story at all (shame!) and just want the Cliffsnotes, this movie ends up being a pretty good and accurate summary of the story it’s based on.



I should note though, that The Vampire Lovers is actually part one of Hammer’s Karnstein Trilogy, which loosely continues to follow the character of Carmilla and her family’s legacy through two additional films. But neither of those films are actually related in any way to the original story of Carmilla (or this movie). They’re all just standalone films loosely using the Karnstein name to tell more vampire stories. The only other thing that links the three films was that they didn’t shy away from depicting lesbian themes. But other than that they have no relation to each other.


There, now you’ve seen Ingrid Pitt from every sexy angle.

Considering this is a Hammer film the production quality is pretty top-notch, despite the studio’s typical lower budget-ness. The costume and set designs look lovely, the sound and lighting are clear and crisp, the direction is fine, and the acting is on par with what one might expect from your usual Hammer picture: generally good, though not necessarily great. Really the film’s only downside is that it moves at a very sedate pace, but that’s really par for the course when it comes to gothic horror movies. These are typically the types of films where oftentimes merely the act of walking from one room to another counts as an action scene. This is the kind of movie where mood reigns supreme. Meaning it’s full of things like dark foreboding, sensuality and eroticism, and you shouldn’t be expecting anything like carriage chases or sword fights. And despite a lot of stakes going through hearts there also isn’t a lot of blood on display, so don’t expect too much of that either.


And here’s all the men-folk. Not that anyone will care about them in this movie…

The Vampire Lovers is pretty much what I expected out of a Hammer film, but I still enjoyed it. And I was surprised with how on-point they were with the story and that they didn’t shy away from the original themes. But then again, lesbianism was more of a novelty in the 70s, so maybe that was the point. Either way they did a good job of it, and because their filming codes were still stricter back then the subtlety they were forced to adhere to doesn’t make the film’s themes feel exploitative. So you end up with classier subtle eroticism instead of sleazy, exploitative trash. So if you’re a fan of gothic horror, then this is a solid entry. But if you’re looking for something more explicit and exciting, then this likely isn’t for you.

The Vampire Lovers is available on a variety of streaming services.

The Vampire Lovers is also available on DVD and Bluray.

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